Seed giant Monsanto has applied to the South African authorities for permission to import Smartstax maize, which objectors call "one of the most controversial and risky genetically modified organisms (GMOs) ever produced for commercial use".

The biological watchdog, the African Centre for BioSafety (ACB) has called on the authorities to reject the application out of hand.

The ACB recently published a report featuring Smartstax entitled 'The stacked gene revolution: A biosafety nightmare'. It pointed out that while the majority of commercially cultivated GM food crops contain three new genes at most, Smartstax contains eight.

The centre said that several prominent scientists at the United Nations have expressed grave concerns about the biosafety implications of this, and also the lax safety assessments carried out. Smartstax has been approved in the US and Canada for commercial cultivation.

According to Mariam Mayet, director of the ACB, "Stacked GMOs represent the biotech industry's blitzkrieg for increased control of the food chain. The more genes 'stacked' into their seeds, the higher their profits."

In November last year, Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant said he expected the gene giant to triple its 2007 gross profits by 2012. Smartstax was to be one of the cornerstones of this expansion. However, Mayet said, Monsanto is struggling to convince US farmers to grow Smarstax.

Monsanto is now trying to secure export markets for the GM maize, but Mayet insisted: "South Africa does not need this dangerous GM maize. The Department of Agriculture's latest estimates suggest that in 2009/10 South Africa will produce almost 13 million tons of maize, a 7.5% increase on the previous year, and the second largest maize harvest in South African history.

"This will leave almost a 6 million ton surplus for export, and the evidence shows that international grain traders are already dumping South African's surplus GM maize in Kenya and Swaziland." She said.